Niiro Kaze: Uzumaki Naruto
by RahedionReborn
Summary: A life of Hardship and a Life of Battle. A life of Friends and a Life of Determination. This is the life of Uzumaki Naruto from a different Path fate may have taken. Be warned, this is, and yet is not a normal Fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

Niiro Kaze: Uzumaki Naruto

Prelude.

"Uzumaki, eh?" Rumbled out the low voice of the man standing in front of the Hokage's desk. One arm had appeared from within the confines of his loose vest, a Kataginu. Thumb and finger were stroking opposite sides of his cheek running in line with the neatly-trimmed and minimal beard that ended in a mild point against his chin. Dark black hair and the scarred visage of a seasoned warrior completed to form a mixed aura of intimidation and minor eccentricity.

The man's other hand rested idly on the Wakizashi thrust through his Obi, the wide belt holding his hakama, pants, on. "The child certainly has a talent for trouble, from what you've told me. This life is not one for those who cannot respect authority. Perhaps another would be best?" His words were not said with malice or disrespect, but merely a probing disagreement.

Luckily for him, the Sandaime Hokage was a wise old man quite capable of remaining levelheaded. A wily and dangerous political opponent, as well, but still honorable. The robed man leaned forward and entertwined war-hardened fingers in front of his face as he spoke, resignment lacing his voice. "It is not a lack of respect, that fuels his disrespect, but a lack of education or consideration. I am afraid the villagers have not treated him well. We found him near death several months ago. His apartment door had been broken down. It seems several citizens of Konoha beat him near to death. They'd led off his ANBU guardsman with a story about drunken shinobi causing damage some streets away."

Sarutobi sighed inwardly. The Yondaime's last wish had been that his son would be seen as a hero in the village, but that had not come to pass. His own law had fostered a silent hatred that was most often kept bottled behind the eyes of the villagers, but upon days such as the yearly festival of rememberance and celebration that Konoha continued on, many of those who had lost precious people during the Kyuubi's attack seemed to let that anger loose, and it was fast becoming fatally dangerous for the boy.

He couldn't see it getting any better, either, despite some rather vicious punshiments given to the few who were foolish or unlucky enough to be caught breaking the Sandaime's law. Recent political grumblings were ressurecting the old and battered argument inside the Village Council that Naruto should be killed, or at least turned into a Weapon for the village. Danzo seemed to enjoy that idea quite a bit.

So when he had heard from a contact in the captial that some new Lord had come up with an.. exchange.. idea meant to revamp a faltering piece of their history and perhaps build new ties to exorcise old wounds. He'd given it consideration. And allowed the messenger sent to 'choose' a boy to come. Though he'd not yet relented to allow the boy to be taken. Questions must be answered, first.

"And the beast within, You are quite certain it cannot escape? We are unfamiliar with the branch of sealing arts generally employed by Ninja." Another good question. But one that Sarutobi had no problem addressing. He responded with a proud, and yet saddened look in his eyes.

"The discoveries and revolutionary new ideas about the field of Sealing which the Yondaime Hokage used have created perhaps the most stable Jinchuuriki Seal ever seen in the elemental countries. There are no signs of mental, physical, or even spiritual degredation. The child has a pure heart despite his many trials. If anything, he is stronger for it. The medical ninja who oversaw his recovery remarked repeatedly on an almost unbelieveable rate of healing. Routine physical tests showed him to be stronger and more agile than most boys his age. His chakra coils are well developed from having to deal with the beasts'." Sarutobi smirked wryly. "Konohagakure will be sad to lose all that potential for her Ninja Corps. But perhaps it is best if he leave for some time."

The other man nodded, understanding, still, no matter what the Fire Shadow may say, he would still have the boy taken to the Fire Temple monks so that they might examine him, shore up any mistakes in the defenses which perhaps the Yondaime had been unable to see. For whilst innovation was good, tradition was tradition for a reason. The accumulated centuries of sealing expertise found within the hands of the Monks would likely solve any problems. And if not? Well, he could return the boy before two years was done.

"It's not like you won't have him returned to you eventually anyway, Hokage-Sama. He would return in ten years time to begin the second phase of our plan." The hokage nodded as well, and he wondered what the old man was thinking, what considerations the man might be entertaining at the thought of having one of His kind at Konoha's command. A frown marred his features. For though a part of him embraced the idea of bringing new life into his livelihood, he feared this was not the best course. This was unprecidented political ground they were treading on.

Hokage-Sama wasn't done speaking, it seemed. "And how will he be provided for? What shall others be told when they ask of his origins, or to which family he belongs? These are important questions in your world and the world of the Ruling Class." The old man had a point, to be sure. "The idea is to simply name him an Oprhan in the care of the Land of Fire. His family name shall be stripped from him, and returned upon his graduation, or his sixteenth birthday. Whichever occurs first. In this way he will be given living quarters, food and such, whilst still understanding to whom he owes his allegiance."

"Acceptable. Do you intend to retain authority over him once he is 'released' back to us? A soldier of Konohagakure cannot have divided loyalties. He must know from the earliest of stages that he will be ours again, eventually." The represtentative in front of Sarutobi looked thoughtful for a moment but nodded. Konoha's again, yes. But one of His kind? Always. That would also be instilled in the boy.

"Lastly, I must request scheduled checkups by a representative of my choice, as well as monthly reports. Uzumaki Naruto is still a citizen of Konohagakure and we prefer to take care of our own. " This caused the battlescarred man's eyes to widen slightly, and his fingers to stop their idle, seemingly habitual stroking of his chin. The training the boy would be through had long been beyond recrimination, and never before had their methods been questioned so by another branch.. he wondered idly if it was a side effect of being the most suspicious bastards on the planet.

"I can promise you the council won't appreciate that. But if you want to spend your bargaining chip on it, I can't stop you. He'll be taken good care of. And not turned against you subversively. We are not the sort to practice such tactics." Finally, the leader of Konoha's Ninja forces seemed to relax somewhat. And took a few long, silent puffs on his pipe before answering.

"Yes, that will do. Have the paperwork brought and we'll hammer out the minute details. Tomorrow at.. three past noon?"

"That will be sufficient. I bid you good night, Hokage-Sama."

"Good Night." The man turned on one heel slowly, and made his way from the Hokage's office, shutting the door behind him just a hair too early to hear the Hokage's final words, meant not for his ears.

"I'm sorry, Minato. But he's not safe here anymore......"


	2. Observations

Niiro Kaze: Uzumaki Naruto.

Author's Drunken Rambling: This chapter is short. It's shorter than Naruto before the Land of Waves. I'm a lazy bastard when it comes to writing. My apologies. But not terribly earnest apologies. This is, after all, a voluntary hobby. And naught more.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did, alot of so called 'people' in positions of politcal power would have been deposed long ago. But anybody with their own personal mystical one-man-ninja-army would do the same, ne?

"Hey, isn't that a..?"

"No way, they're rare these days..."

"Doesn't the Daimyo..?"

"What is one of _them _ ...?"

The words of the commons along the main road inside Konohagakure were not lost upon him, he had, after all, been informed that he would likely meet against ancient, and misinformed predjudices due to what he was. The Council had spoken at length about the image Shinobi tended to hold of their ways.

But he hadn't been deterred. After all, this was part of his duty, his assignment. What he did here would likely have great effect upon the multi-pronged plan to save their stagnating and swiftly-fading way of life. Tradition had kept their predecessors bound to the acient, restrictive codes. In the face of the changing world this inability to change with it had led to their decline. The Shinobi had long been the major military force within the Lands, their own fall from that position had been centuries ago, now.

One might think that he would be annoyed. None of the voices were laced with awe, or even respect. There was, perhaps, caution. And there were certainly whispers of fear. For some reason, he couldn't truely blame them. After all, what had once been a title to be claimed only by those with honor, with discipline, with a sense of duty greater than the self.. had become another word for 'thug with a katana'.

It was singularly frustrating. He meant these people no harm, he offered them no violence, no disrespect. Yet despite the fact that he kept himself composed and dignified even in the face of their prejudice still mothers pulled their children closer. As if at any moment he might begin a vicious assault upon innocents.

The attitude disgusted him. Not for the reasons one might think, either. But the result of that disgust was that he pulled all the closer in on himself. Wrapping pride and dignity about like thick armor plating. Chin held high even as deep, electric blue gaze remained firmly upon his destination on the Horizon. The Hokage's tower.

He'd waited a long time for this.

* * *

"Target approaching market sector three. Confirm line of sight."

"Confirmed. Target remaining upon preagreed route. No signs of hostility."

"Continue observation. Maintain distance and stealth."

"Affirmative."

* * *

Certainly, they were watching him. He was sure of that. He wasn't quite sure where, or how. But he knew they would be. Shinobi were cautious creatures. Patient and calculating, he had to respect the level of a dedication a professional, experienced shinobi could lend to his or her craft. Still, it set the hairs on the back of his neck to prickling. All that focused attention, the scrutinization was not something any trained warrior could ignore, and the idea of having potential combatants and foes watching his every move made something inside of him tense.

But he rarely listened to that part, it wanted naught but to lead him astray. Away from the path of honor.

"Why haven't the ANBU apprehended him yet? They're not allowed in our village!"

"Maybe he's a representative?"

"No way, he's too young for that. _Their_ kind is even more restrictive than Ninja."

"Murderous bastards hiding behind a guise of self control, you mean..."

Sometimes, having heightened senses sucked. He really rather would have been ignorant of that particular conversation. Once again, the civilian's ignorance set his teeth to grinding. But still he soldiered on, continuing forward, then left.. and forward for some time after. Wooden sandals, Geta, clipped and clacked against the walkways of Konohagakure. But the unrelenting stares, the fixated dislike and even restrained agression still had him on edge. Without even thinking one hand had fallen to rest upon the pommel of the blade hanging at his waist.

Maybe that wasn't the smartest move, instantly he felt the focused attention of his silent pursuers shift from intent observation to readied-for-violence. As if he would lower himself to dirtying his blade with the blood of noncombatants. Had the world's view of his kind truely fallen so far? Well then, he'd just have to prove them all wrong. Sooner or later, they would acknowledge their mistake. Recognize their misconceptions and then..

Then, maybe, his dream.

He almost missed a turn, having lost himself in pleasant thoughts. Fantasies held deep within his heart. He had to stop and mentally go over the rigorously studied mental image of the map and path that would lead him through Konoha's winding, labrynthine streets to the Hokage's tower.

He didn't let himself think about what would come at the _end_ of his journey. It would be a bad idea to lose his cool now. Especially after he had worked so hard to gather his composure in the first place. All this silence was not his natural state, and the urge to loudly denounce the ideals he could oft see behind viewer's eyes grew with each passing moment.

Mental map run over once again, he found the right path and resumed his journey.

* * *

"Unplanned halt. Target is deviating."

"Hold. Observe. He might just be lost."

"Should we reposition Encounter One? "

"Mayb--.."

"Target returning to preplanned route."

"Good. Continue shadowing him. "

"Affirmative."

"Remember; intervene only if violence is imminent. The Hokage wants to see how he'll handle the villagers."


End file.
